Rick Brazell, USFS Supervisor, is presented with award by Lloyd McGee, President of the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition.  
 

Highest timber output on CNF in over a decade

Northeast Washington For¬estry Coalition, a broad coalition that includes Vaagen Brothers Lumber, Columbia Cedar, Avista Utilities, Ponderay Newsprint, conservation groups, and other independent foresters and busi¬nesses, honored the Colville Na¬tional Forest and Forest Super¬visor Rick Brazell with an award at their annual meeting and Barbecue at Colville City Park June 16.  2008 marked the sixth straight year of collabora¬tion with the agency, and the hand-carved award, donated by Ray Barnett of Nature’s Gallery, highlighted the highest timber output off the once gridlocked forest in well over a decade.
“I appreciate what the Coali¬tion has done, and I hear about it from everybody,”  Brazell said.  “Of my 30 years with the Forest Service I’ve served the best of them right here in the Colville National Forest.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart be¬cause it really matters.”
  Sixty-one million board feet might not mean a lot to some, but that figure means added certainty for a regional timber industry struggling to maintain local infrastructure and compete in an uncertain global market in challenging economic times.  The figure translates directly into meaningful terms for local workers and businesses.
 “We’re talking about hundreds of jobs in the woods, on the roads, and in the mills,” said Coalition President Lloyd McGee.  “The increased timber harvest in 2008 from projects the Coalition and the Colville National Forest collaborated on has pumped millions into the economy.”
With woes about the state of the national and global economy at an all-time high, the Coali¬tion’s work with the Forest Service to streamline timber management is a local success story that has caught the atten¬tion of forestry leaders and elected officials around the na¬tion.
“While there are dozens of collaborative forestry groups starting up throughout the West, our Coalition’s efforts have matured to the point that we’re having a dramatic positive impact on both forest health and the economy,” said McGee.  
The Coalition has been recog¬nized by members of Congress as one of the most successful community forestry groups of its kind.
After years of declining timber outputs from the Colville Na¬tional Forest, the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition was formed to bring former con¬servation and timber industry adversaries together to try to get beyond the gridlock of contro¬versy, appeals, and litigation through local collaboration.
“Once we sat down and started talking to each other di¬rectly, representatives of timber companies and environmental groups realized we could agree on a lot more than we ever would have thought,” said Tim Coleman with the group Con¬servation Northwest.  "I’m proud to support sustainable timber harvest that benefits communi¬ties and wildlife.”
In addition to helping increase timber harvest, the Coalition has tackled other tough issues on the Colville National Forest.  Those issues include achieving a balance among timber har¬vest, forest restoration, recrea¬tion use and wildlife habitat and water quality protection - in¬cluding advocating wilderness protection for unique roadless areas.  For more information on the Coalition, go to the website atwww.newforestrycoalition.com or contact Lloyd McGee, Presi¬dent, at (509) 684-5071.